Family adventures in Chiang Mai

Feeding elephants! 

In continuation of our family explorations in Bangkok (found here), my family and I headed up north to Chiang Mai for three days of adventure-packed fun! My step-mom, Julie, had elephants listed as a high priority for her time in Thailand, so on our first full day in Chiang Mai we scheduled a day volunteering with elephants through travel hub. As I've previously written here, responsible and ethical tourism in Thailand (and elsewhere) is extremely important, and it's crucial to understand the brutality against elephants in the tourism industry. In order to get a genuine and kind elephant experience in Thailand you should head to an elephant sanctuary, which are companies that have formed in order to rescue elephants that are stuck working on the streets of Thailand. I previously volunteered with Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and loved my experience, but for round two I wanted to try something new! Like most elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai we started our day feeding and petting the elephants. We learned a bit about their health and how to keep them in good spirits, and then we got to give them a bath in the river! To end the day we said goodbye to the elephants and then hopped in some tubes for a lazy float down the river. We had a great day learning about our elephant friends and I think it was a crowd favorite for the whole family!

bathtime 

Day two in Chiang Mai we hired a Songtaew to drive us around for the afternoon. I previously had plans for us to rent motorbikes for the day, but after my recent run-in with the ground I nixed that plan and went with an easier option. By hiring a driver we didn't have to worry about maps or directions, instead we let our driver lead the way as we relaxed in the back. Our first stop was Doi Suthep which is a known temple at the top of a mountain Northwest of the city. Asia has presented me with my fair share of temples, so at this point I was really going to Doi Suthep for the view. Unfortunately Chiang Mai is surrounded by hills, so once the humidity hits the clouds basically stay stuck over the city, resulting in a very hazy view. This visit was no exception and turned out a lot hazier than my previous visit in January. Despite the nonexistent view we were still able to enjoy the temple and my family all got bracelets blessed by a monk, score!

Views from my first visit to Doi Suthep in January 

The Grand Canyon in Chiang Mai 

Next up we drove to the Grand Canyon which is an old mining quarry Southwest of Chiang Mai. While there we challenged my dad's fear of heights and jumped off the ledge into the deep water below. We spent some time lazing around in the water and floating on the bamboo rafts, then we wrapped up our afternoon with traditional Thai meals purchased from the local cafe on site. Chiang Mai offers plenty of activities for the adrenaline junky such as rafting trips and zip lining, but they usually come with a pretty large fee. A visit to the canyon is easy and cheap ($1.5 entry fee) and is a great way to spend the day getting some thrills without blowing your budget. And if you're not up for the three story drop then there's still plenty of action for you to sit back and enjoy :) 

Dad and Julie making curry 

Day three in Chiang Mai we put our cooking skills to the test and participated in a really awesome Thai cooking class. I normally don't spend much time in the kitchen at home, unless I'm baking something that involves chocolate, so I didn't have terribly high expectations for our cooking class. It turned out to be a lot of fun and easier than I expected! Thai food usually uses a lot of fish sauce and various meats, so I found us a vegetarian cooking class which replaces fish sauce with a vegetarian chili paste. I really enjoyed learning how to make some of my favorite dishes without the taste of seafood! We made about eight different dishes including a few curries, pad Thai, papaya salad and various forms of the famous tom yum soup. I think we all enjoyed learning about the Thai ingredients and seeing how easy it is to make some filling dishes! Our class lasted about four hours and we had six students in the class, making it a really small and easy group to get along with.

The rest of our time in Chiang Mai was much more unscheduled, involving a lot of food, laying by the pool, massages and browsing the night bazaar for souvenirs. Chiang Mai is arguably the second most popular city in Thailand (after Bangkok) but it is a lot smaller and far less hectic. It still provides plenty to do and see, but at a slower pace. This was my second trip to Chiang Mai this year and I'm looking forward to another trip next week with my sister! 

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Logistical info 

- Our elephant adventures were booked through Travel hub and we paid $52 each 

- We hired the songtaew for 2000฿ ($56) and asked our hotel to refer a driver. They had a whole book of private cars, motorbike taxis and songtaew drivers who they prefer. 

- cooking class was done with May Kaidee Cooking School and was $42 a person